Mysterious lights over the Atlantic Ocean have reignited Canada’s long-standing intrigue with UAPs.
On December 13, 2024, multiple aircraft reported witnessing unusual aerial activity — “strange lights in the night sky” — about 60 kilometres off the coast of Canso, Nova Scotia.
The event was striking enough that NAV Canada filed an official report with the Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) on January 21, 2025. While no injuries or fatalities were recorded, the sighting was classified under the vague umbrella of “Weather balloon, meteor, rocket, CIRVIS/UFO” — a designation that has often been used for Canada’s most puzzling skyward mysteries.
Ryan Stacey, Director of Operations for The Experiencer Support Association, highlighted the report on his LinkedIn page, drawing attention to the growing trend of UAP sightings in Canadian airspace and noting the significance of multiple eyewitness accounts.
“At first glance, this report is classified under ‘Weather balloon, meteor, rocket, CIRVIS/UFO,’ which means it’s a catch-all category for unidentified aerial observations,” Stacey wrote in a February email. “However, the fact that multiple aircraft reported the event raises important questions. A single observer could misidentify a meteor or atmospheric event, but multiple independent reports suggest something unusual.”
With no evidence of weather balloon launches in the area at the time, Stacey suggested further investigation into whether unscheduled weather balloon launches, satellite re-entries, or military operations occurred in the region during the sighting.
“If nothing conventional aligns with this event, it strengthens the possibility that it falls into the UAP category,” Stacey added. However, without further verification, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn.
For NAV Canada — a private, not-for-profit entity responsible for managing Canada’s air navigation — the incident required addressing an instance of an unauthorized or unknown aircraft in their airspace through their Aviation Occurrence Reporting Procedure.
“If and when occurrences are reported to NAV CANADA, the Company follows required Aviation Occurrence Reporting processes which include reporting all the information pertaining to the events to the appropriate investigating authorities as well as Transport Canada for inclusion in the Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS),” NAV Canada spokesperson Maryam Amini wrote in a February email. “Transport Canada is responsible for any appropriate follow-up measures.”
In such incidents, NAV Canada only shares information with the relevant authorities, such as Transport Canada or the Transportation Safety Board.
“Additionally, NAV CANADA does not collect detailed pilot recollections of events,” Amini added.
While NAV Canada regularly submits CADORS reports, most remain brief, according to Stacey, who independently analyzes reports submitted by the private agency.
“This means that while NAV Canada is documenting these events, they are not investigating them,” he wrote. “That responsibility would fall elsewhere, but Canada lacks an official government body that actively investigates UAPs.”
Nova Scotia has a long history of UAP and unidentified submerged object (USO) sightings. One of Canada’s most well-documented cases is the Shag Harbour Incident, where a UFO reportedly plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on October 4, 1967. Another notable case is the USO sighting in Shelburne.
Investigator Chris Styles has extensively researched both cases, with Shag Harbour remaining an open and active UFO investigation.
As this story develops, Stacey said he will continue analyzing the case, working to identify which aircraft reported the lights, their flight paths, and their altitudes to help pinpoint the exact location of the sighting.
“I will continue monitoring the case, cross-referencing it with past reports, and looking for further patterns. If new details emerge, I’ll provide updates,” he wrote.